Method and Apparatus for Tunneling Information in RFID Communications
A method and apparatus involve a radio frequency identification tag that receives a wireless signal containing a message type conforming to an extension of a standard communication protocol and having an extended services segment, the tag then transmitting the extended services segment through an extended services interface. According to a different aspect, a method and apparatus involve a radio frequency identification tag that stores data which includes respective information regarding each of multiple extended services, and that responds to receipt of a wireless signal which is an extension to a standard protocol by transmitting a further wireless signal which is an extension to the protocol and contains at least part of the data. According to yet another aspect, a method and apparatus involve a radio frequency identification tag that responds to receipt of one wireless signal by transmitting a further wireless signal containing information regarding multiple sensors.
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This application claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of provisional application No. 61/182,444 filed May 29, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates in general to radio frequency identification (RFID) systems and, more particularly, to techniques that enhance the functionality of RFID tags, including enhancement of sensor functionality in tags.
BACKGROUNDRadio frequency identification (RFID) systems are used for a variety of different applications. As one example, RFID systems are commonly used to track and monitor shipping containers or other mobile assets. RFID tags are attached to the shipping containers or other assets, and exchange wireless communications with other system components, including stationary interrogators and/or readers.
Over time, RFID tags are being provided with a progressively increasing degree of extended functionality, above and beyond that needed for basic RFID operation. These optional extended functions are sometimes referred to as “extended services”. As one aspect of this, extended services may be implemented by adding supplemental hardware and/or software components to a tag. For example, a tag may include one or more sensors, along with a software module that handles the sensors. As another example, a tag may include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, along with a software module that processes data from the GPS receiver. As yet another example, a tag may include a software module that provides enhanced security for wireless communications, by encrypting and decrypting information being sent and received by the tag.
Many RFID tags and interrogators are currently being manufactured to communicate according to a protocol that is an international standard commonly known as ISO 18000-7. Although this protocol has been generally adequate for its intended purposes, it has not been entirely satisfactory in all respects. As one example, this protocol does not allow an interrogator to efficiently obtain from a given tag an identification of all the extended services that are implemented on the tag.
A further consideration is that there are industry-standard protocols that can be used to interact with a single sensor. One example is ISO 21451.7, which is based on another industry-standard protocol commonly know as IEEE 1451.7. Although the ISO 21451.7 protocol has been generally adequate for its intended purposes, it has not been entirely satisfactory in all respects. As one aspect of this, there is currently no convenient way to use this protocol in conjunction with the ISO 18000-7 protocol, so that an interrogator can directly and efficiently communicate with a sensor that is provided in a tag. As another aspect, the ISO 21451.7 protocol is specifically designed for interaction with only a single sensor. Thus, in addition to the fact that there is currently no way to use the ISO 21451.7 protocol in conjunction with the ISO 18000-7 protocol, where a tag has multiple sensors it would be necessary for the tag to be simultaneously running several separate, identical instantiations of a single-sensor software module for ISO 21451.7 (one module for each sensor). This would obviously be very cumbersome and inefficient.
A better understanding of aspects of the present invention will be realized from the detailed description that follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
With reference to the interrogator 12,
The interrogator 12 also includes an ultra high frequency (UHF) transceiver 26, and an antenna 27 through which the transceiver can send and receive wireless signals 28. The wireless signals 28 contain information that is explained in more detail later. In the embodiment of
As to the wireless signals 28 transmitted between the interrogator 12 and tag 11, the interrogator and tag in the disclosed embodiment can communicate using an existing international industry standard known as ISO 18000-7. This international standard was promulgated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Persons skilled in the art are familiar with the ISO 18000-7 standard. As used herein, the term ISO 18000-7 refers to a specific version of the standard, which is ISO/IEC FDIS 18000-7:2009(E). Although the interrogator 12 and tag 11 can communicate in conformity with the ISO 18000-7 standard, they can also communicate in new and unique ways that are not currently part of the 18000-7 standard, but are potential enhancements or extensions that could be added to the 18000-7 standard. These enhancements or extensions are discussed later.
Turning to the tag 11,
The tag 11 includes a temperature sensor 51 and a shock sensor 52, which are located within a housing of the tag 11. The temperature sensor 51 monitors the ambient temperature within the tag, which corresponds to the ambient external temperature near the tag. The shock sensor 52 can detect the magnitude of a physical shock experienced by the tag or by an asset to which the tag is attached, for example where the tag or asset is struck with force by some other object. A humidity sensor 53 is provided externally of the tag 11. The humidity sensor 53 may be mounted on the exterior of the housing of the tag, or may be mounted on some other structure that is spaced some distance from the tag. The sensors 51-53 are each operatively coupled to the microcontroller 46, either by wires, or by some form of wireless link, such as an infrared (IR) or an RF link. For example, wires 54 couple the humidity sensor 53 to the microcontroller 46 within the tag 11. The temperature sensor 51, shock sensor 52 and humidity sensor 53 shown in
The tag 11 includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 57, and an associated antenna 58. Through the antenna 58, the GPS receiver 57 can receive standard wireless GPS signals 59 transmitted by several conventional GPS satellites that orbit the earth, and that are represented diagrammatically at 61 in
The tag 11 includes a battery 63 that powers all of the circuitry within the tag, as well as the external humidity sensor 53. Alternatively, the humidity sensor 53 could have a separate battery. In the disclosed embodiment, the battery 63 is a long-lasting lithium battery of a known type, but could alternatively be some other type of battery.
Referring again to the microcontroller 46, the memory 48 stores several computer programs that are executed by the processor 47, including a main program 71, a sensor application 72, a security application 73, a real time locating system (RTLS) application 74, and a GPS application 75. The main program 71 provides the basic functionality of the tag, including RFID functionality. The sensor application 72 manages all of the sensors 51-53 that are associated with the tag 11, and maintains some data 77 regarding the sensors. The data 77 is discussed later. The security application 73 provides enhanced security, for example by encrypting and decrypting information being sent and received via the wireless signals 28, and by verifying for the tag 11 the authenticity of the remote interrogator 12 as a device that is authorized to communicate with the tag. The RTLS application 74 supplements the RFID functionality of the tag 11 by providing RTLS capability of a type that is known in the art, and that is therefore not described here in detail. The GPS receiver 57 provides the GPS application 75 with position information extracted from the GPS signals 59, and the GPS application 57 uses this position information to calculate the current location of the tag 11 on the surface of the earth.
The application programs 72-75 each provide a service that supplements or extends the capabilities of the main program 71 of the tag. The application programs 72-75 are therefore collectively referred to herein as extended services 81. The communication between the main program 71 and each of the application programs 72-75 is referred to as an extended services interface 82. The application programs 72-75 shown in
The memory 48 of the microcontroller 46 has a portion set aside to store universal data block (UDB) data 86. A UDB is an industry-standard format for transmitting data.
The UDB data 86 also includes sixteen UDB types 0x80 through 0x8F that are respective memory blocks or storage sections 101-116. The storage sections 101-116 are sometimes referred to herein as mailboxes. Each of the extended services 81 actually present on the tag 11 is assigned a respective one of the storage sections 101-116. In this regard, each of the extended services 81 on the tag is assigned a unique extended services identifier (ESID), which is a value from 0x80 to 0x8F. These ESIDs are uniquely defined for each tag, based on the set of extended services actually installed on that particular tag. Thus, for example, the GPS application 75 may have an ESID of 0x80 on one tag, an ESID of 0x83 on another tag, and an ESID of 0x8F on yet another tag. Although each of the extended services 81 is assigned only one mailbox in the disclosed embodiment, it would alternatively be possible for an extended service to be assigned two or more of the mailboxes.
The storage sections 101-116 are each used for transmission of information between a respective one of the extended services applications 81 and other parts of the overall system. For the sake of discussion, assume that the sensor application 72 (
The interrogator 12 (
The manner in which the interrogator 12 can communicate with the extended services 81 on the tag 11 will now be described in more detail.
The digital word 128 includes several fields. The first field is a preamble 131, which is a pre-defined pattern of bits that will allow a device receiving the signal to recognize that a wireless signal 28 is beginning, and to synchronize itself to the wireless signal. In the disclosed embodiment, the preamble is approximately eight bits, but the specific number of bits can vary in dependence on factors such as characteristics of a particular receiver that is expected to receive the signal.
The next field 132 in the word 128 is a protocol identification (ID) 132. The protocol ID 32 identifies a communication protocol, such as a particular version of the 18000-7 protocol, so that a device receiving the word 128 will know what fields appear in the remainder of the word. The next field in the digital word 128 is a packet options field 133, which is a standard field that is not necessary to an understanding of the present invention, and is therefore not described here in detail. The next field is a packet length field 134, which is a numerical value representing the length in bytes of the entire digital word 128, excluding the preamble 131 and a postamble 141.
The next field is a tag manufacturer ID 135. The digital word 128 is used for point-to-point communications, where a particular interrogator transmits a message to a particular tag. A given tag can be uniquely identified by its manufacturer and its serial number. The tag manufacturer ID 135 is a code identifying the manufacturer of the particular tag to which the message containing the digital word 128 is directed.
The next field in the digital word 128 is a session ID 136. This is typically a code that uniquely identifies the interrogator 12 that transmitted the wireless signal 28 containing the digital word 128. The next field contains a tag serial number 137, which is the serial number of the specific tag to which the digital word 128 is directed.
The next field in the digital word 128 is a command operation code (opcode) 138. When the tag 11 receives a wireless signal 28 containing the digital word 128, the operation code 138 tells the tag what it should do in response to the signal. In the disclosed embodiment, the opcode 138 can be one of a number of different opcodes that are specified in the ISO 18000-7 standard. Alternatively, as discussed in more detail later, the opcode field 138 may contain a new and unique opcode that is not yet part of the ISO 18000-7 standard, but could be added to the standard as an enhancement or extension.
The command opcode 138 is followed by a command parameters field 139. The command parameters field 139 may or may not be present, depending on which opcode appears in the command opcode field 138. That is, some commands involve only an opcode and no parameters, and in that case the command parameters field 139 would not be present. However, most commands do require one or more parameters in addition to the opcode, and thus the command parameters field 139 will typically be present. However, the length and content of the command parameters field 139 will vary from opcode to opcode.
The next field in the digital word 128 is an error control field 140 containing a value that is a cyclic redundancy code (CRC). Communications between the interrogator 12 and the tag 11 often occur in environments that have relatively high noise levels. Therefore, it is desirable for a receiving device to be able to evaluate whether the word 128 that it received in a wireless signal 28 is correct, or has errors. Consequently the error control field 140 is included in the digital word 128 in order to permit the receiving device to identify and/or correct errors. Although the disclosed embodiment uses a CRC value, it would alternatively be possible to use any other suitable error detection and/or correction scheme, such as parity bits, or a forward error correction (FEC) code.
The next field in the digital word 128 is a postamble 141, or in other words a packet end field. This field signals to a receiving device that the transmission is ending. In the disclosed embodiment, the postamble 141 has eight bits that are all set to a binary zero. However, the postamble 141 could alternatively have some other suitable configuration. The command opcode field 138 and the command parameters field 139 together constitute a command 143. Some examples of different commands that could appear at 143 are discussed later.
As explained above, when the tag 11 receives the digital word 128, the command opcode 138 instructs the tag to take some type of action. Sometimes this action does not require the tag 11 to send any reply back to the interrogator 12. Typically, however, the tag 11 will need to send a reply to the interrogator 12.
The next field is a tag status field 153. This field contains certain status information regarding the tag that is transmitting the digital word 148. For example, the tag status field 153 contains a bit that is set if the tag needs some type of service. This bit will be set if the battery 63 (
The next field in the digital word 148 is a packet length 154, which is the total number of bytes in the digital word 148, excluding the preamble 151 and a postamble 161. The next four fields are a session ID 155, a tag manufacturer ID 156, a tag serial number 157, and a command opcode 158, which are respectively identical to the fields 136, 135, 137 and 138 in the previously-received digital word 128 to which the digital word 148 is a reply. The tag 11 may be simultaneously communicating with two or more interrogators, and the session ID 155 ensures that one interrogator accepts the digital word 148, while other interrogators recognize the digital word is not for them and discard it. The tag manufacturer ID 156 and tag serial number 157 uniquely identify the tag 11 that is transmitting the digital word 148. The interrogator 12 will typically be communicating simultaneously with a large number of tags, and the tag manufacturer ID 156 and tag serial number 157 will tell the interrogator exactly which tag sent the digital word 148. The command opcode 158 tells the interrogator 12 exactly which of its prior commands the tag is replying to by sending the digital word 148.
The next field in the digital word 148 is a response parameters field 159, the size and configuration of which will vary in dependence on the opcode that appears in field 158. The last two fields in the digital word 148 are an error control field 160 containing a CRC code, and a postamble 161. The fields 160 and 161 are functionally equivalent to the fields 140 and 141 in the digital word 128. The command opcode field 158 and the response parameters field 159 together constitute a response 163. Some examples of different responses that may appear at 163 are discussed later.
The command parameters 139A include a sequence ID 172, an extended services ID (ESID) 173, and a payload 174. The sequence ID 172 is used in situations where a single wireless transmission is not sufficient to deliver the entire payload to the tag. For example, the amount of information that needs to be sent in the payload field 174 may be larger than the maximum permissible size of the payload field, and the maximum permissible size of the payload field may vary as a function of local government regulations regarding wireless transmissions. Consequently, where necessary, the sequence ID 172 is used to identify a specific segment of a multiple-segment transmission, and also to indicate the number of segments yet to be transmitted. In more detail, if the information to be sent is large and is therefore split into N segments that will each be transmitted separately, the sequence ID 172 in the first transmission is set to N−1, the sequence ID in the next transmission is set to N−2, and so forth, until the sequence ID in the final transmission is set to zero (0). The tag 11 would collect and assemble all segments of the overall transmission before delivering anything to the designated extended services application. If the information to be sent is not large and can be sent in a single transmission without being split, then the sequence ID 172 for that first and only transmission is set to zero (0).
As discussed earlier, each of the extended services 81 (
The response 163A includes a command opcode field 181, a sequence ID field 182, and an ESID field 183, the contents of which are respectively identical to the command opcode 171, sequence ID 172 and ESID 173 in the command 143A to which the tag is responding. The payload 184 may be simply an acknowledgement by the tag 11 that the payload 174 of the received command 143A has been delivered to the mailbox of the extended services application identified by the ESID 173 in that received command. Alternatively, the payload 184 may be a reply from the particular extended services application identified by ESID 173 in the command 143A. Where the payload 184 is a reply from an extended services application, the tag 11 does not study or analyze the content of the payload 184. The tag 11 simply takes the payload 184 from the designated one of the extended services 81, or from the mailbox for that application, and forwards the payload 184 to the interrogator 12 without change. Where the payload 184 is a reply from an extended services application, the length of the payload 184 can vary, and is under control of the particular extended services application that generates the payload. Some examples of information that can be in the payload 184 are discussed later. In some cases, after an extended services application receives the command 143A, it may not be able to provide requested information for the payload 184 within a time limit imposed by the ISO 18000-7 standard. In that case, the extended services application can instead promptly provide for the payload 184 an interim reply indicating that its actual reply will be delayed. Then, the interrogator 12 can later issue another command 143A to actually retrieve the actual reply. In other situations, the information provided by the extended services application may be larger than the maximum permissible size of the payload 184. In that event, the information can be put into the mailbox assigned to that particular extended services application, and then the payload 184 can be used to notify the interrogator that the information is in the mailbox and is waiting to be retrieved in a manner discussed below.
The last of the command parameters 139B is a maximum packet length value 194. When a tag eventually replies to the command 143B, the field 194 specifies the maximum permissible length of a packet returned by the tag. In other words, the field 194 specifies the maximum value that can appear in the packet length field 154 of the digital word 148 (
The fields 201, 202, and 204 are identical to the fields 191, 192 and 193 in the particular command 143B to which the tag is responding. The field 203 identifies the total amount of data (in bytes) that the particular tag currently has stored in the UDB data 86 (
The next field in the UDB data 205A is a length field 212, which contains a numerical value identifying the length in bytes of the data that follows the length field 212. In
More specifically, the item 213 includes a description type field 231, a length field 232, an ESID field 233, and a data field 234. In the disclosed embodiment, the description type field 231 contains either a value 0x00 or a value 0x01, to specify the format for the data field 234. In particular, if the description type field 231 contains the value 0x00, then the data field 234 uniquely identifies the particular extended services application by setting forth a previously-assigned numerical value unique to that application. Alternatively, if the description type field 231 contains the value 0x01, then the data field 234 contains a string of ASCII characters uniquely identifying the particular type of extended services application.
The length field 232 gives the length in bytes of the fields 233 and 234, and the ESID field 233 contains the ESID value assigned by the tag to the particular extended services application to which item 213 corresponds. The interrogator 12 can use the ESID value in field 233 to uniquely identify the particular extended services application in subsequent communications, and will know from the data field 234 exactly what type of extended services application it is working with.
As explained earlier, the interrogator 12 and any of the extended services 81 can directly exchange information with each other, where information from the interrogator 12 is placed in the payload 174 of the extended services command 143A shown in
The command in payload 174A includes a 5-bit command field 321, a 1-bit parameter field 322, and a 2-bit field 323 containing padding bits. The command field 321 contains a unique code identifying the read-sensor-identifier command. The parameter field 322 contains a single bit that identifies a format the sensor application 72 should use in its reply to identify each sensor. In particular, if the bit in the parameter field 322 is a binary “0”, then the sensor application 72 will identify each sensor with the serial number of the sensor, and a unique sensor ID code that is sometimes referred to as a port address. On the other hand, if the bit in the parameter field 322 is a binary “1”, then the sensor application 72 will identify each sensor by providing the unique sensor ID code for the sensor, and fields 1-3 from a transducer electronic data sheet (TEDS) for that particular sensor.
In this regard, and as is known in the art, a TEDS for a given sensor is essentially a table having a series of pre-defined fields that each provide information about a respective characteristic of the sensor. Under the TEDS standard, field 1 is a 3-bit field that normally contains the binary value “001”. Field 2 is a 7-bit field containing a value that identifies the particular type of sensor, such as whether the sensor is a temperature sensor, a shock sensor, a humidity sensor, and so forth. Field 3 is a 5-bit field used only for certain types of sensors, in particular to identify a specific sub-type of the general sensor type identified in field 2. For example, if field 2 indicates that the sensor is a chemical sensor, field 3 will identify the particular type of chemical sensor.
Turning to the padding bit field 323, the ISO 21451.7 and IEEE 1451.7 protocols are bit-based protocols, whereas the ISO 18000-7 protocol is a byte-based protocol. In
In more detail, the payload 184A includes several fields 331 through 337. Field 331 is a 5-bit response field containing identically the same code that appeared in the command field 321 of the payload 174A. The next field is a 1-bit NAK field. This field contains a binary “0” to indicate that the sensor application 72 did not encounter any error in executing the command specified at 321 in the payload 174A. If an error had occurred, then the NAK field would contain a binary “1”, but in that case the remainder of the payload would have a different format, as discussed in more detail later.
The next field 333 of the payload 184A is a 4-bit numerical value specifying the total number of sensors associated with the tag 11. The field 333 is followed by several fields 334 through 336 that each provide identifying information for a respective one of the sensors in the tag. The number of fields 334-336 will be equal to the numerical value appearing in field 333. If the tag has no sensors, then field 333 will contain a value of zero, and none of the fields 334-336 will be present. When present, the fields 334-336 each have a length of either 22 bits or 71 bits, as discussed in more detail below. The last field 337 in the payload 184A is only present if needed, and contains padding bits to the extent needed to ensure that the overall length of the payload 184A is an integer number of bytes.
As discussed above, the fields 334 through 336 that identify respective sensors can each have one of two different formats, and these two alternative formats are each shown in the lower portion of
The next field in the payload 174B is a 4-bit measurement type field 363 that identifies the particular type of measurement information being requested. The permissible measurement type codes are identified in ISO 21451.7, and are therefore not all described in detail here. But by way of example, the interrogator could use the measurement type field 363 to request (1) an average of the readings from the specified sensor, (2) the most recent reading from the specified sensor, (3) part or all of a log of a series of readings from the specified sensor, either with or without date and time information for each reading, or (4) other types of measurement information. This information is all maintained by the sensor application 72 of
The next field 364 is 16-bit field containing a numerical value specifying the number of the first record to be returned from the data maintained for the measurement type specified at 363. The next field 365 is an 8-bit field containing a numerical value specifying the number of records being requested. The interrogator might, for example, send a first sensor-read-records command in which the field 364 specifies record 1 and the field 365 requests 10 records. The sensor application 72 would then send back ten records. The interrogator 12 might then send a second sensor-read-records command in which the field 364 specifies record 11, and the field 365 specifies 10 records. The sensor application 72 would then return records 11 through 20.
The payload 184B includes six fields 371-376. The fields 371, 373 and 374 will respectively be identical to the fields 361, 364 and 365 in a sensor-read-records command received from the interrogator in the payload 174B (
The payload 184C includes several fields 411 through 417. The field 411 is a 5-bit response field containing identically the same numerical code as the field 401 in the command of
Each of the fields 414 through 416 contains seven fields that are shown at 421 through 427. The field 421 is a 7-bit field containing the unique sensor ID or port address that was discussed earlier. The next field 422 is a 1-bit enabled status field that indicates whether the specified sensor is currently enabled or disabled. In this regard, the interrogator 12 can send the sensor application 72 a command that identifies a particular sensor and indicates the sensor is to be enabled or disabled. The enabled status bit 422 indicates whether the sensor is currently enabled or disabled.
The next field 423 is a 4-bit field reserved for future use. This is followed by a 12-bit sensor type field 424, which contains fields 1 through 3 of the TEDS for the specified sensor. The next field 425 is a 2-bit field reserved for future use. The next field 426 is a 2-bit alarms set field. One bit indicates whether or not monitoring is currently enabled for a lower threshold associated with the specified sensor, and the other bit indicates whether or not monitoring is currently enabled for an upper threshold associated with that sensor.
The next field 427 is 4-bit alarms triggered field. One bit indicates whether or not an alarm has been triggered for the upper threshold. The next bit indicates whether an alarm has been triggered for the lower threshold. The next bit indicates whether, for any of the data logs maintained for that sensor, a memory full condition has been reached, and memory rollover has not been asserted (or is not possible to assert). The remaining bit indicates whether the specified sensor has flagged a low battery condition, based on criteria specified by the sensor manufacturer. Where a tag has multiple sensors supported by a single battery, such as the battery 63 of
The payload 184D includes five fields 451 through 455. The field 451 is a 5-bit response field that contains identically the same value as the first field of the particular command that triggered the error. In other words, the field 451 would contain the value from one of the field 321 (
In
The foregoing discussion has given several specific examples of how the interrogator 12 and sensor application 72 can communicate with each other using the payload 174 (
As to communications between the interrogator 12 and other extended services applications 81, the manufacturer or author of each extended services application 81, such as those shown at 73 to 75 in
Although a selected embodiment has been illustrated and described in detail, it should be understood that a variety of substitutions and alterations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined by the claims that follow.
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising a radio frequency identification tag having a main section that provides basic radio frequency identification functionality, that has an extended services interface, and that receives wireless signals containing a message type which includes an extended services segment and which is an extension to an industry-standard communication protocol, said main section responding to receipt of a wireless signal containing a message conforming to said message type by transmitting said extended services segment thereof through said extended services interface.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said communication protocol is the ISO 18000-7 communication protocol.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extended services segment is an extension to an industry-standard further communication protocol that is different from said communication protocol for said wireless signals.
4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said tag includes a further section that includes a sensor and that that receives said extended services segment from said main section through said extended services interface, said further communication protocol being one of the IEEE 1451.7 communication protocol and the ISO 21451.7 communication protocol.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1, including a further section that provides extended services functionality different from said basic functionality, and that receives said extended services segment from said main section through said extended services interface.
6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said further section is part of said tag.
7. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said further section is physically separate from said tag.
8. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said extended services functionality includes provision of security for said tag.
9. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said further section includes one of a sensor, a receiver circuit that receives wireless satellite signals containing positioning information, and a real time locating circuit.
10. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said further section includes a plurality of sensors, and a single instantiation of an application that interfaces each of said sensors to said extended services interface, and that is compatible with and also implements an extension to one of IEEE 1451.7 and ISO 21451.7.
11. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said main section responds to receipt through said extended services interface of a further segment by transmitting a further wireless signal that conforms to said communications protocol and that contains said further segment.
12. An apparatus comprising a radio frequency identification tag having a main section that provides basic radio frequency identification functionality, that has an extended services interface, and that receives wireless signals, said main section storing data that includes respective information regarding each extended service accessible through said extended services interface, and said main section responding to receipt of a wireless signal containing a selected command that is an extension to a command set of an industry-standard communication protocol by transmitting a further wireless signal containing a message that is an extension to said communication protocol and that contains at least part of said data.
13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said communication protocol is the ISO 18000-7 communication protocol.
14. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said data includes a list identifying each extended service that is accessible through said extended services interface, said further wireless message including at least part of said list.
15. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said data includes a list identifying each extended service that is accessible through said extended services interface and that currently has an active alarm condition, said further wireless message including at least part of said list.
16. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said data includes, for each extended service that is accessible through said extended services interface, a respective segment containing information received through said extended services interface and relating to the corresponding extended service, said further wireless message including at least part of a respective said segment.
17. An apparatus according to claim 12, including a further section that provides extended services functionality different from said basic functionality, and that is coupled to said extended services interface.
18. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said further section is part of said tag.
19. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said further section includes a portion that is physically separate from said tag.
20. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said extended services functionality includes provision of security for said tag.
21. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said further section includes one of a sensor, a receiver circuit that receives wireless satellite signals containing positioning information, and a real time locating circuit.
22. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said further section includes a plurality of sensors, and a single instantiation of an application that interfaces each of said sensors to said extended services interface, that is compatible with one of IEEE 1451.7 and ISO 21451.7, and that implements an extension to said one of IEEE 1451.7 and ISO 21451.7.
23. An apparatus comprising a radio frequency identification tag having a section that sends and receives wireless signals and that has a multi-sensor interface, said section responding to receipt of a wireless signal containing a request by transmitting a further wireless signal containing information regarding multiple sensors.
24. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said request and said information conform to an extension of an industry-standard sensor communication protocol.
25. An apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said sensor communication protocol is one of IEEE 1451.7 and ISO 21451.7.
26. An apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said section includes a single instantiation of a multi-sensor application that is coupled to said multi-sensor interface, that is compatible with one of IEEE 1451.7 and ISO 21451.7, and that implements an extension to said one of IEEE 1451.7 and ISO 21451.7.
27. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said information in said further wireless signal includes an identification of each sensor.
28. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said information in said further wireless signal includes status information regarding each sensor.
29. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said tag includes a plurality of sensors, said section interacting with each said sensor through said interface.
30. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said wireless signals conform to a communication protocol.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 3, 2013
Publication Date: Jan 30, 2014
Applicant: SAVI TECHNOLOGY, INC. (Alexandria, VA)
Inventors: Richard L. Schnell (San Jose, CA), David B. Koons (San Jose, CA)
Application Number: 14/045,120
International Classification: G06K 7/00 (20060101);